Putin installed a replica of his Moscow office at his beachside retreat so he could pretend to be in the thick of things while shielding from COVID-19, report says

https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-moscow-office-republica-installed-beach-palace-report-2020-12

 

Bill Bostock

Dec. 14, 2020

 
Russian President Vladimir Putin installed a perfect replica of his Moscow office at his beachside retreat so he could pretend to be in the thick of things, the Russian investigative news outlet Proekt reported.

Putin, who before the pandemic was often front and center of national affairs, began working remotely from the Novo-Ogaryovo palace near Moscow in February to shield from the coronavirus.

But while the president's official schedule has almost always placed him at Novo-Ogaryovo, Proekt, citing four sources, reported that officials had installed an identical office at Bocharov Ruchey, Putin's palace on the Black Sea near Sochi where he has been holed up since the end of summer.

Presidential flight records have often countered the president's official location given by the Kremlin, Proekt said.

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